Libya frees aircrew of 3 Ukrainians, 1 Russian

Dec. 17, 2014 17:00

Libyan gunmen - AFP

TRIPOLI: The foreign minister of Tripoli’s militia-backed government says it has freed four crew members — three Ukrainians and one Russian — of an Emirati cargo plane who were detained after landing illegally in a western Libyan airport.

State news agency LANA on Tuesday quoted Mohammed al-Gharyani as saying the four were detained after landing in the western air port of Ghadams, 450 kilometers southwest of Tripoli, near the Algerian border last month. Three others remain in detention and are under interrogation, he added.

Libya is mired in its worst fighting since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown in 2011, leaving the country with two rival governments. In the chaos, arms have flowed from Libya into Africa’s Sahel region, home to several militant groups